Lightning In A Bottle
by TheOfficerandGentleman
Summary: He was wrong and she was right. Lightning Farron does not need anyone to hold her hand. /LightxHope/


_Disclaimer = I don't own Final Fantasy. All rights belong to Square Enix._

Archylle Steppe

Even though, Gran Pulse was a dangerous place there was no denying its beauty. With that beauty, however, there was also something….haunting. Some say that they heard the voices of the fallen pulse L'Cie, screaming in agony, begging to be put out their misery. They were trapped in isolation and suffering for all eternity. It was hell on earth.

Regardless, this was their new home. Best get used to it.

It was late. The glooming moonlight reflected through the fallen crystallised Cocoon, lighting the entire Archylle Steppe. If you'd look deep inside the core of that frozen pillar supporting it, you'll see Fang and Vanille holding hands. Because of them cocoon is saved and sooner or later they are to awake from their crystal sleep. It might not be today or tomorrow but at least they won't wait forever for that to happen

Lightning Farron stood on top of the Taejin's Tower. She stared at the sight far away. The wind blew a few strands of her pink hair out of her tear stained face. She smiled.

"Vanille …Fang…thank you."

The creatures of Gran Pulse went to their natural habitat. In the underground tunnels of Mhah'bra, the Uridimmu mother would carry the crying new-born creature in her jaw to the den. Once there the mother would drop the baby gently; his eyes yet to open. At the Sulyya Springs, the Zirnitra took her babies under her protective wing; peacefully they slept without a care in the world. Mother instinct being so strong, the Zirnitra chose to stay awake instead.

With a majority of the dangerous wildlife asleep and out of the way, it was a perfect time to move towards the objective. That is exactly what Lightning Farron intends to do.

Lightning made a quick stop to one of the Retail Network/Save stations shops to purchase a few things. A dozen potions for the injured people, desspelga traps to be placed around the camp and a Lionheart for about 28, 000 gil. She did not have enough for the latter so she had to trade it for her old Blazefire Saber and two platinum bangles instead. She waited patiently as the machine processed the purchased.

Once she got the Lionheart, she inspected it. The handle felt somewhat smoother than her previous one and this one can transform into a crossbow. The arrows accompanied with it are apparently so powerful that it can stop an Adamointose with one shot.

"Hmm..." Further inspection showed her that it can also be used to cast spells on it, making it even stronger. Attached with bravery, haste and vigilance will truly make her a force to be reckoned with. She had none of those powers anymore though. It was completely useless. Light and her friends were L'Cie's no more, thankfully.

It took a while but she finally made it at the Centrale Expanse. Jumping on top of a rock, Lightning spotted an Adamointose a few yards away. The Pulse heavyweight was quenching its thirst at the river. She set up at the vantage point and casted Deceptistol. Pulling out the Lionheart, it transformed to a crossbow in blink of an eye. She took a deep breath and aimed straight to the unaware creature.

Just as she was about to put an arrow between its eyes, she saw something else… Close to that Adamointose were the smaller versions of that creature, Adamantortoise . The two of them were leaning against its legs.

"It must be their mother." Said Lightning.

A pang of guilt hit the ex-sergeant of the guardian corps. She could not do it. What was wrong with her?

She looked away.

'_You're turning soft Light.'_

'_Blame it on the kid.'_

'_There must be another way.'_

'_Out in the wild of gran pulse its survival of the fittest. Either be the prey or be the predator. So, no, there is not another way'_

She aimed down the sight again, directly aiming towards the Adamantoise. All it needs is one shot. She took a deep a breath.

.

.

.

And again she couldn't do it.

She watched as the Adamantoise walked away with the smaller two following their mothers lead.

Lightning swore under her breath, punching a boulder out of sheer frustration. There must be an alternative source for some food but where?

She turned around, only to find something dangerous.

She never saw a Behemoth like this before. He was twice the size of the normal one and his skin colour was completely gold. The beast's sharp fangs were crimson red from the last meal he had. Saliva dripped out of his mouth. Red eyes trained on the goddess. He charged towards her, wasting no more time.

She dodged the attack and with swift movement she managed to strike him on the side, slicing through his thick armour skin.

'_**RARRRGHH'**_

He slammed down to the ground.

"Not very smart, aren't you?"

The confident smirk on Lightning's face made the Behemoth absolute livid. A yellow light flashed around him making the creature roar. He went to a crawling position to standing one. The beast pulled out the rusty and bloody knife that was attached to his back.

The blade was raised and brought down.

Her reflexes were too fast for him. Lightning managed to doge the attack with ease. The creature tried to pull back the knife but it was stuck to the ground. This created the perfect opportunity for her.

She went full on commando, performing two continuous blitz attacks. Lightning followed it with a straight uppercut, staggering the creature. She was about to perform smite the Behemoth but a powerful wave sent her falling back.

It felt like she was pinned to the ground. It must have casted a poison spell with that scream. She could not move at all. Her health points slowly depleting. Lightning felt tired all of a sudden; her vision fading.

The behemoth's shadow casted over her. The long blade was firmly in its grasp. A sadistic smile plastered over the creature. He raised the knife. She was not about to show any weakness or fear

A yellow boomerang came out of nowhere. It hit the Behemoth on top of the head, disorientating, the creature.

"Open Fire!"

It was team NORA. Gadot, Maqui, Yuj, Lebreau, Snow. They all rushed to Lightning's aid. A parade of bullets went straight to the Behemoth.

"Hang in there Sergeant Farron"

Wait…. that voice….She heard it before.

"Don't want NORA to have all the fun'' the man smiled.

It was Commander Amador and from the looks of it, he was armed to the teeth. He held a laser chain gun and had a bandolier full of various grenade types.

"Let's see if this beast can tango."

He chucked multiple grenades at the behemoth. Incendiary, shock and tear grenades. It all exploded at the same, staggering the beast. The behemoth dropped his weapon and brought his paws to his burning eyes.

"Take this!" Snow said, hitting the creature square in the face.

The Behemoth tumbled backwards, completely dazed. Another punch was delivered from Snow. Amador dropped his gun and pulled off a few punches as well. With each hit the beast would take a few steps back until the creature would end up on the edge of the cliff.

Together, in unison, Amador and Snow punched the behemoth in the face. The beast lost his balance and fell.

"**ROARRRRR-"**

_Thud_

"Light!" Hope along with Serah ran towards Lightning. The two of them held her in their arms. It made her feel happy. If she dies now then at least it won't be alone like she always feared it would be.

''Hang in there sis.'' Serah lightly kissed her forehead. ''Help is on the way.''

A smile crossed Lightning, despite her critical state. Serah, her precious sister. The reason she changed her name to Lightning. She will save the entire Cocoom all over again for her.

Hope. Beautiful Hope. She wanted to reach for his cheek and wipe that tear off. Lightning hated seeing him like this.

She felt tired. All she wanted to do was sleep.

"Hope, I don't think''

"Don't say it.'' He said, still holding her in his arms. ''Don't''

By now he was crying a river and sobbing. ''You promised. You promised back at Palampolum''

She couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. She faded into darkness.

'_I'm sorry Hope'_

.

.

.

.

"Kweh"

"Ugghh."

'Kweh"

She opened her eyes and saw an overjoyed small chocobo on her face. She rose from a sitting position. It felt like she slept for 500 years. Surprisingly, she felt no more pain and didn't feel tired at all. Those esuna potions sure do come handy. Lightning felt as good as new.

It felt like she used a pillow. She turned around and saw Hope's jacket. He probably put it there for her to use as one. _Sweet. _She stood up and did some stretching. Farron looked around and saw that she was back at camp.

The entire NORA crew slept on the ground, beer bottles strewn all over them. They had a victory party after defeating the Behemoth and got totally wasted. Amador as well. The afro haired kid Dajh was in Sazh arms fast asleep. Serah slept in Snow's arms. Lightning noticed the big grin on his face. Jokingly, she made a mental note to wipe that smirk of his face with her fist later. Oh, maybe she is being too hard on the brute? He makes Serah happy and that was enough reason not to kill him. The day he makes her cry however….

She saw Hope sitting at the campfire all alone. The 14 year old stared at the fire, hugging his legs.

"Hey kid." She playfully ruffled his hair and sat down next to him. Hope's gaze did not leave the fire to look at Lightning. He was completely ignoring her. Not to mention that he looked angry, which is very rare with someone like Hope.

She threw his orange jacket over his shoulder, ''Thanks for the pillow. Definitely better than the hard ground. That's for damn sure''

He did not reply.

'_Oh, great. Just great. The silent treatment'_

"So.." Lightning said, trying to start a conversation. "I saw back at the shops that you can trade your boomerang and trade in for a stronger one.''

He still did not reply. It really hurt her. She wanted him to say something._.anything_!

"Hope." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Please.."

''Youshouldhavetoldme''

''What?''

"You should have told me!" Hope snapped at her, finally looking at her. He was genuinely worried for her and still angry. "You told me that we should always be together. Strength in numbers. Do you even remember that?''

Lightning was flabbergasted. She never saw Hope likes this.

He was right though. She told him that they should always be together. Never too fight alone. She felt guilty for putting all of them through this, especially Hope and Serah. She just wanted to clear her head after everything that happened and think on what's in store for them in the future, Snow and Serah's wedding to name one. Light also tried to bring them some food.

No, scratch that. He was wrong and she was right. She's a grown woman! Lightning Farron does not need anyone to hold her hand or supervise her. She opened her mouth but was silenced by Hope.

"I don't want to see you get hurt, Light."

'_Huh?' _Lightning raised an eyebrow and looked at him curiously. Realising what he said, Hope looked down to the ground, a blush formed on his cheek to the point where he can be compared to a red tomato.

I-I me-ean it's not t-that t-that I… because you're…uh.''

'_Oh' _Now she knew. No more words needed. Lightning could not help but smile at Hope as he stuttered. She had an idea.

''But-''

"'Sshhh"' She said, silencing Hope by pressing her finger to his lips. She pulled out the knife that Serah gave her on her Birthday out of the pouch and handed it to Hope. "Here"

He took and studied it. Hope remembered back at the Gapra Whitewood when she gave it to him, but back then he was not in the right frame of mind. He was obsessed with revenge. That was in the past. Operation NORA was over.

"I don't need this. I mean I don't need any protection" Hope said. "Just promise me,''

He took her hands, surprising Lightning. "Promise me you'll be more careful.'' He squeezed her hands, "Promise me you'll be safe''

''Hope, I can't'' She just can't promise him she will be safe. Bad things will happen it's the nature of life. Tonight was proof of it. "I want you to be strong. There is a reason your mother gave you that name. Live up to your name. If something happens to me-''

''but nothing will happen.'' Hope interrupted.

She continued, ''If something happens to me, I want you to take care of everyone. Keep the knife. You promised me you'd take care of me as well. Do the same for them. God knows that Snow can't find his way out of a cardboard box.''

At first it was a small chuckle from Hope and Lightning before it led to a full blown laugher. An image of Snow lost in a box was hilarious. By now it was getting colder. The duo moved closer to the camp fire, enjoying each other's company

She can't bring back her mother, neither can Hope. She can, however, give him the happy life she never had at his age. Lightning wanted to care of him. Just as she promised.

Lightning wrapped her arms around Hope. Like a mama chocobo wrapping her wings around her baby chocobo in the cold winter. She buried her nose in his platinum hair as both of them finally fell asleep.

* * *

_Author's Note= Thank you so much for reading this. Granted, it is not perfect. Mainly because of English not being my home language. I honestly tried very hard. I just love XIII and its characters that much. Let me know what you thought of it :)_

_I have a few ideas for a second fanfic, and every constructive criticism helps me become a better writer. Do not hesitate to tell me where I went wrong. Thanks again._

_All my love,_

_The Officer and Gentleman_


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